The Stefanos Tsistipas - Nick Kyrgios feud at Wimbledon: A complete breakdown of the allegations by the duo on each other at their press conferences

Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas had one of the fiercest encounters on Centre Court at Wimbledon. In a high-intensity third-round match, the Australian player prevailed 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(7), defeating Tsitsipas for the fourth time in five matches. However, the tennis was overshadowed by a war of words between the two players during and after the match.

While Tsitsipas enjoyed the atmosphere and the quality of tennis on display, it is safe to say that he was rather agitated by other incidents during the match, calling it all "a circus."

"Bit disappointed with some other things that went down especially when they’re repetitive over and over again it really starts to get really difficult to ignore in a way, it felt kind a circus in a way," the fourth seed said in his post-match press conference.

He went on to speak about the Australian's attitude during the match.

"It’s constant bullying, that’s what he does. He bullies, he was probably a bully at school himself, you don’t know whats behind. I don’t like bullies, I don’t like people that put other people down. He has some good traits in his character as well but when he, he also has a very evil side to him," the Greek added.

It all began in the first set, throughout which Nick Kyrgios argued with the chair umpire and other officials about line calls. He also kept showing his dissent during the change of ends with line judges and the umpire, as Tsitsipas took a close opening set in the tie-breaker. It continued in the second set, but this time Kyrgios held his nerve when it mattered and broke Tsitsipas in the 10th game to level the match.

It was then that Tsitsipas lost his cool for the first time, hitting the ball into the lower section of the crowd. He was lucky not to hit anyone, but Kyrgios immediately called for his opponent to be defaulted. The angry Australian player once again ranted at the chair umpire and the tournament supervisor, showing his displeasure at Tsitsipas still being allowed to continue playing.

After the match, he spoke about the incident, claiming that he would have certainly been defaulted if the tables were turned.

"When I played Filip Krajinovic, he didn’t hit a ball at the spectator, he didn’t hit a spectator so really didn’t have much to talk about I was just wondering why he was still on the court, because I know if the roles had been reversed, I would’ve been pulled off that court and defaulted for sure, so I was just wondering, what was going on," Nick Kyrgios said in his post-match press conference.

Responding to Tsitsipas' allegations about Kyrgios being "a bully," the Australian termed his opponent "soft."

"He’s (Stefanos) like soft, like to come in here and say I bullied him, like that’s just soft. Like I go up against guys who are true competitors like if he’s affected by that today then that’s what’s holding him back because someone can just do that and that’s gonna throw him off his game like that, I just think it’s soft," opined Kyrgios.

"Someone needs to sit down with him and talk" - Stefanos Tsitsipas on Nick Kyrgios

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Nick Kyrgios at The Championships - Wimbledon 2022

During the third set of their ill-tempered encounter on saturday, Nick Kyrgios threw in an underarm serve. Tsitsipas, still visibly angry, slapped the ball into the back wall on the return of serve and received a second code violation and thus a point penalty. As the match progressed, he hit the ball directly at Nick Kyrgios on two other occasions at the net, missing the Australian both times. The Greek player even argued with the umpire and stressed that Kyrgios deserved more of a punishment for his antics.

Tsitsipas did not hold back when asked whether he intentionally aimed for Kyrgios while hitting the ball. He went on to further express his dissent at the World No. 40's repeated bad behavior during matches.

"I was aiming for the body of my opponent but I missed it by a lot. Just to stop you know, it needs to stop (Nick talking between games) its not okay, someone needs to sit down with him and talk like or, I don’t like, I don’t know what to say, theres frustration behind that’s for sure, and I'm not used to play this way," said Tsitsipas.

In a high-quality fourth set, Tsitsipas fought hard but fell short again as Kyrgios won the tie-breaker and thus the match. Their handshake at the net was clearly just a formality and Tsitsipas admitted that he indulged in the handshake only to applaud his opponent's tennis on the day and not as a sign of respect for him.

"It’s a thing that I’ve been doing my entire life, I’ve never finished the match and not given my hand to the opponent simply because of his performance, attitude wise, if there was a handshake for that I would be walking away from it," Tsitsipas added.

Only time will tell whether the relationship between the two players remains strained for the foreseeable future or if it is a case of 'what happens on the court stays on the court.' But for now, Nick Kyrgios has moved into the fourth round of Wimbledon, where he will Brandon Nakashima.